Subject: Re: Anti cyclic citrullinated peptide result
Hiya Angela I have found this info for you it may help I am not sure: When is it appropriate to have this test? Does anti-CCP determine if a patient has rheumatoid arthritis? Anti-CCP is a very useful test to order during the diagnostic evaluation of a person who may have rheumatoid arthritis. If present in such a patient at a moderate to high level, it not only confirms the diagnosis but also may indicate that the patient is at increased risk for damage to the joints. (Low levels of this antibody are less significant.) In the past, doctors relied on another antibody, the rheumatoid factor (RF) to help confirm a diagnosis. # What is Rheumatoid Factor? What does anti-CCP indicate? While the rheumatoid factor is more common in rheumatoid arthritis patients, many patients with a positive test do not have rheumatoid arthritis. Furthermore, the presence of the rheumatoid factor has less prognostic significance than the CCP. Of interest is that if your rheumatoid factor is negative, you are less likely to have a positive CCP. Both blood tests are recommended in the initial evaluation of a patient with suspected rheumatoid arthritis. A negative result is below 20 and a low to moderate Positive result is 20>39 I got this info from: www.arthritis.about.com/od/radiagnosis /f/anticcp.htm and: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-citrullinated_protein_antibody hope it helps:)
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